268: What is the most important thing in war?

"What's the most important thing in war?"

Gou Dezhu's question stumped everyone; some looked bewildered, while others frowned.

After a long silence, a Disciple tentatively spoke:

"Courage?"

"Incorrect."

"Military strength?"

"Incorrect."

"Wisdom?"

"All incorrect!"

"The most important thing in war is obedience!"

Saying that, Gou Dezhu cupped his hands towards the Dayuan Imperial Palace:

"With Martial Aunt in control of the overall situation, what we need to do is not cause her trouble and strictly follow her instructions."

"Otherwise, Great Abyss will be a pile of loose sand, and a seemingly temporary victory will instead disrupt the overall situation!"

The Disciples nodded in agreement:

"That makes sense."

Seeing that he had convinced the Disciples, Gou Dezhu waved his hand:

"Therefore, we cannot be impulsive. We should strictly defend according to Qian Qiu Shishu's words."

"Immovable like a mountain, moving like a collapsing mountain. We will only fight when Qian Qiu Shishu tells us to act."

"Do you all understand?"

This time, the Disciples didn't argue back, just nodded silently.

Gou Dezhu immediately gave orders:

"The twenty of you will be divided into five groups, with each person leading two hundred and fifty soldiers."

"Four people form a team, making a total of one thousand elite soldiers, forming one battalion."

"Of the five battalions, one battalion is primarily water-attributed, stationed by the Chang River. If the Yan army crosses the river, they are to stop them with all their might."

"One battalion is primarily wood-attributed, hidden in the forests on both sides, to prevent the Yan army from sneaking across."

"One battalion is primarily earth-attributed, hidden underground."

"The remaining two battalions, one is primarily fire-attributed, and one is primarily metal-attributed."

"The metal-attributed battalion will hold swords and be on alert, while the fire-attributed battalion will ascend to observe. If there is any abnormality with the Yan army, the metal-attributed battalion goes first, with the fire-attributed battalion following behind."

After speaking, Gou Dezhu reached into a brocade pouch at his waist and pulled out a handful of soybeans.

With a casual toss, these soybeans transformed into nearly ten thousand golden-armored warriors, fully armored, each possessing a Qi Refining Peak Cultivation.

After doing all this, Gou Dezhu felt like something was still missing.

He casually gathered a pile of weeds.

As Gou Dezhu continuously formed hand seals, these weeds transformed into straw horses.

"Horses, come!"

As Gou Dezhu stopped his hand movements, with a loud shout, these straw horses actually transformed into plump, sturdy warhorses.

Warriors paired with warhorses appeared even more extraordinary!

After doing all this, Gou Dezhu looked at the astonished crowd and said with a smile:

"These are Small Divine Abilities passed down by the Peak Master: scattering beans to form soldiers, and cutting grass to form horses."

"It's just that my Cultivation is insufficient, so these soldiers and horses only have the form but cannot exert their proper combat power."

"However, they can certainly serve as a deterrent and scare the Luo Xue Sect Disciples on the other side."

After speaking, Gou Dezhu placed these soldiers and horses by the river, forming a human wall, standing across the river from the Yan Country soldiers.

"I hope this can make them wary and prevent them from easily attacking."

Seeing Gou Dezhu's thorough and meticulous arrangements, the Disciples completely abandoned their idea of launching a sneak attack on the other side and proceeded to act according to Gou Dezhu's instructions.

Across the Chang River, the Luo Xue Sect Disciples looked at the golden human wall on the riverbank, their expressions somewhat grave.

One of the Disciples spoke to the red-robed youth at the head, with a worried expression:

"Senior Brother Zhao, Great Abyss's intentions are not good."

The red-robed youth's eyes narrowed slightly:

"Proceed according to the original plan, regardless of casualties, feigning attacks day and night."

"We have fulfilled our duty; the rest depends on the arrangements over there."

"If this battle is won, with their help, our Luo Xue Sect will surely rise."

"If this battle is lost... with our Luo Xue Sect's current strength, at most, we will just be disbanded."

The Disciples looked at the red-robed youth, all showing resolute gazes.

Under their respective calculations, with the Chang River as the boundary, both sides began a siege battle.

However, no matter how the Luo Xue Sect provoked, Gou Dezhu remained unmoving.

The Luo Xue Sect Disciples also did not dare to attack rashly, causing the situation to enter a stalemate.

...

Three thousand li west of the Supreme Sacred Ground, five li underground in an unnamed cave, a young Cultivator sat cross-legged.

This Cultivator had an unremarkable appearance, with a dark complexion, the kind of person no one would give a second glance to on the street.

This Cultivator was none other than Gou Dezhu, an Inner Sect Disciple of Forget-Love Peak.

In the pitch-black earthen cave, Gou Dezhu slowly opened his eyes:

"Fortunately, I kept a backup plan, otherwise I would really have been sent to the front lines."

"Although this Core Formation Clone cost me a lot of energy to refine, at least I don't have to put myself in danger."

"As for the Magic Treasure on the Clone... alas, although it pains me, life is more important."

"It seems after this battle, I'll have to do more missions and prepare a few more Clones."

After these few sentences, the earthen cave fell completely silent.

Gou Dezhu seemed to have merged with the surrounding earth, completely undetectable by Divine Sense below Soul Transformation.

Above Soul Transformation, if one did not search carefully, it would also be easy to overlook.

Inside Wangqing Hall, Gu Liangyuan saw all of this through the Golden Light Art, a look of satisfaction on his face.

"A teachable Disciple."

Gu Liangyuan's words left Lü Qingmei and Yang Qiong bewildered.

In such an important war for the Fu Long Court, the Disciple is hiding in the back, and not only are you not angry, but you're calling him a teachable Disciple?

Gu Liangyuan did not explain. With another wave of his hand, the scenery in the light screen before them changed. A canyon several li long appeared in the light screen.

Looking down from the sky, this canyon appeared as if it had been carved out by a single sword strike.

The stone walls on both sides of the canyon were smooth, impossible for apes to climb, and without a foothold for birds.

This place was Sword Gorge Pass.

To move troops through, one had to pass through the canyon, but the canyon's sides were guarded by elite soldiers. Once someone attacked, they would be treated as live targets by the elite soldiers on both sides of the canyon, either crushed by rolling stones or shot on the spot.

This place was easy to defend and difficult to attack, a natural barrier for Great Abyss.

Outside Sword Gorge Pass, Jun Ao Zhi gazed into the distance, pointing at an empty space several hundred li away and saying:

"It seems Senior Sister was right. The Wenren Country's ambush is right there."

The Disciples behind Jun Ao Zhi looked in the direction he pointed, only seeing a six-hundred-li plain, but not a single person.

"Brother Jun Ao, our strength is low, we don't see anyone."

Jun Ao Zhi yawned:

"These Purple Cloud Sect Disciples have some tricks; they've deployed the Dragon Concealment Formation, which is why you can't see them."

Everyone present was from a Family, and they knew much more about various Divine Abilities and Magic Treasures than ordinary Disciples.

Upon hearing the name Dragon Concealment Formation, someone immediately stated its function:

"The Dragon Concealment Formation, a fifth-tier grand formation, takes its name from the phrase 'Divine Dragon seen only by its head, not its tail,' hence Dragon Concealment. It can conceal things from the Divine Sense of Cultivators below Void Refining."

"As far as I know, the Purple Cloud Sect behind Wenren Country is a minor sect. Where did they get such a grand formation?"

Jun Ao Zhi shook his head: "I'm just here to fight. Leave these matters for Great Senior Sister to worry about."

Everyone nodded. As for how Jun Ao Zhi saw the Dragon Concealment Formation, none of them asked.

As Disciples of the Peak Master, having more abilities was too normal.

Another Disciple wondered:

"The battle has already started at the Chang River, why is there no movement here yet?"

Jun Ao Zhi smiled, the Qi of immortals and demons alternating around him: "If there's no movement, then we'll create some movement for them."

Saying that, he turned to look at the Disciples behind him and randomly pointed at one person:

"Shen Mu, come with me to talk to the Purple Cloud Sect Disciples."

Shen Mu pointed at himself: "Me?"

Seeing Jun Ao Zhi nod, Shen Mu looked troubled:

"I'm good at cursing people, but asking me to negotiate is a bit difficult."

Jun Ao Zhi: "Who asked you to negotiate? Just talk to them with that hooligan spirit you used to have."

Shen Mu's worry turned to joy: "I'm good at that!"